Travelers Never Return Unchanged
by justadream2000
Summary: Ever since he found out who he really was, Henry had wanted to go on an adventures-travel the worlds, fight great battles, and be a hero. When he was captured and taken to Neverland, he secretly felt a bit excited: he was finally getting his dream! But dreams change, just as people change. Join Henry as he returns from Neverland and begins the journey to becoming his own fairytale
1. Home Again? Re-edit

Hello, fanfiction fans! Please read to understand this story better!

A bit about this story: when I started writing this, it was the hiatus between seasons two and three. I didn't really know anything about Neverland but my imagination ran wild with possibilities, and this is one of the them. It is set in an AU Season Three, beginning after the Neverangers return home. Don't worry, you will still see some of Neverland, in flashbacks and explanations and such. It is going to get a bit angsty in some parts, so if you don't like angst, you'll just have to bear with it or leave.

Without further ado, the story. Please review.

* * *

Hook's old ship, the _Jolly Rodger_, creaked and Henry's hammock swayed with the rolling of the winds. Ten minutes ago he and his family had left Neverland, courtesy of the package of magic dust he had stolen from Pan's mine. They were flying, just like in the old Disney movie, but no one knew where they were going. Their navigator had stayed behind to give them a way out.

Henry lay still in his hammock, staring at the ceiling and thinking about Neverland. It had never been mentioned in his fairytale book, so all he had to go on was the other stories he heard, like Disney or the children's book. Man, those didn't tell the right story at all. Peter pan was a brutal tyrant who hid behind the work of Shadow and he Lost Ones in order to play the hero to those children he captured. Those who were young cried at night, and those who were older went either to the dust mines or joined the Lost Ones.

Why so much fuss for a new ruler, Henry mused. Pan claimed that, despite the strong magic that permeated the very air in Neverland, he was dying. "Part of the deal that comes with being the king of a magical land," he had said, "you live a millennium, then you die suddenly. Usually, those left on Neverland fight until a ruler emerges and is crowned the new Pan."

"How do they know who to make the next Pan?" Henry had asked.

Pan smiled, a sight so chilling its memory still gave Henry shivers. "The one whose belief is the purest, dear boy, always wins in the end, and you…well, you believed in fairytales even when everyone back in your village thought you were crazy. That pure belief will bring Neverland," here magic smoke enveloped his hand, dispersing to reveal a fistful of gold, "everything it desires." He went on to explain how Henry was supposed to change Neverland, make its name feared by all lands (like it wasn't already) and rule as emperor for the next millennium. But that isn't what Henry wanted, and so Pan sent him to the mines to 'think it over.' There Henry had met Hook, and the escape plan was formed.

And now Hook was dead. A man who had sought to kill his grandfather, who owed nothing and bore nothing for the boy, died for no other reason than to get Henry home. First, Baelfire, his father, gave himself up so his son wouldn't be alone, and then Hook. How many more deaths would he cause?

The air below decks suddenly became close and hard to breathe. As quietly as he could, Henry rolled out of his bunk and walked above to the starboard side of the ship.

His mother, Emma, and adoptive-mother-and-step-great-grandmother, Regina, stood together at the helm. Once the crew 'set sail,' the two rigged a way to steer the ship by using the sails as rudders. They seemed to be on amicable terms, but how long could that last? Both wanted him, and he felt loyal to both, but because of him, more strife always happened between the two, often involving the rest of his family and even the town. If he had been anyone else, the town would probably have run him out by now for all the trouble he caused. He turned to go below again before they saw him.

"Henry? What's wrong, I thought you would be asleep by now."

Cue Regina.

"I'm fine, Mom. Just needed some fresh air, couldn't sleep," Henry sighed, not turning around. Regina had a habit of knowing when he was lying when he faced her.

Regina caught his shoulder and turned him around. "Say it to my face and I may believe you." How in the heck does she _know_ this stuff…?

"Really, Mom, it's nothing." Henry managed a small smile. "Just got out of the habit of having a bedtime, that's all."

She still wasn't buying it. She put on one of her Mom faces, the one that said I-know-you're-lying-and-I'll-get-to-the-bottom-of-this, and opened her mouth to speak, but Rumplestiltskin beat her to it, yelling from the crow's nest, "Land! Land below us!"

Mary Margaret, AKA Snow White, hung on to the rigging and peered downward. "Is it Storybrooke? Can you tell if it's Storybrooke?"

"I see Granny's from here. Take her down, we're home!"

David Nolan, or Prince Charming, and Emma cheered as they steered the ship toward the ground. In the hustle, Henry slipped back into the hold unnoticed. He just didn't want to be around people after what happened.

-«»-

Emma opened the hold and dropped in. ever since they had left Neverland, Henry had been acting strange. Regina mentioned how he had been hiding something earlier, and she was here now to figure out what.

There he was, crouched next to a stack of crates. Emma knelt beside him. "We're docked, kid. The rest of the town is waiting for us.

"No, they're not." He didn't even look up when he spoke.

"Yeah, they are. They want to make sure all of us are safe and sound. I know I am, and I'm relatively sure of your grandparents and Regina, but the one I'm not sure about is you."

"Why?" Success, he looked at her.

"Something's eating you, has been since we left, and you won't tell anyone about it." His head went back down. "I know you don't want to talk about it now, but when you are ready, so am I, okay? I'm here for you." He nodded, but didn't meet her eyes. "Hey," Emma said, tipping his head back, "no matter what happened, you are my son, and I love you. Remember?"

"What if I'm not the same son? What if I turn into a crazy, dark psychopath?"

Emma paused, momentarily startled. "Why do you ask?"

"Please just answer."

"Only if you do," she said. She had told herself she wouldn't pry, but she also needed to help her son. "Henry, what exactly happened on Neverland?" Henry curled up into a tight ball. Okay, so that tactic wasn't going to work. "Never mind. Like I said, tell me when you're ready. For now, it's past and doesn't matter. What does matter is that," here she tried to meet his eyes, but failing that, settled for putting her hand on his shoulder, "no matter what, even if you turn into a crazy dark psychopath, you are my son, and that means love."

He finally looked up, and hugged her, while she prayed silently that his dark view of the future would not last, or come true.

-«»-

The whole town had turned out to see the heroes return. The first one to step forward was Leroy, AKA Grumpy the Dwarf. "So where's the pirate? You throw him overboard?"

Silence met his words. Emma took a deep breath. "He gave us the head start we needed to get out." More silence. Then the Blue Fairy (Mother Superior) spoke.

"Time to mourn will come later, but the town has not been without troubles since you left. King George is locked in the jail for trying to incite an uprising, among—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on," Charming raised a hand. "Is he under lock and key and guarded?"

"Yes," Blue responded, somewhat frostily.

"Is there any problem that cannot wait until morning?"

"…no."

"Well, then," Charming said, raising his voice so everyone could hear, "all of us and all who have an issue needing resolved will meet in town hall tomorrow at…ten thirty. We haven't had a good night's rest since we left, and any ruling we make tonight won't be as accurate as necessary. If there is nothing else, I bid you all good night." He took Snow's arm and started to walk away.

The crowd dispersed. Henry followed Emma and his grandparents home in dazed sort of way. He had wanted to go home so badly, but now that he was here, he wanted to be anywhere else, as long as he was moving and didn't get time to think. Thinking meant remembering, and his most recent memories were not something he wanted to think about. However, more questions from his mom were the last thing he needed, so he tried to walk with his head up and a blank look on his face. He'd face his trials in the morning, with the others, like Gramps said.

He grimaced suddenly as a thought struck him. Unless tomorrow meant school.

-«»-

"Henry, are you feeling okay?" David asked at breakfast the next morning. It turned out to be Saturday, so Henry didn't have to go to school after all. Not that he thought Emma would let him after he just got home from Neverland. However, it also meant that he had nothing to do. His inner brooding must have shown on his face, because this was the third time he had been asked that this morning.

David continued. "You know, if you're not feeling, well, we can have Doctor Whale check you before the meeting—"

"I'm fine, Gramps, really. Just tired after, you know, adventuring. I figured I'd stay home and get some sleep or just hang out today, maybe head to the stables later to check on Streak, if that's okay."

"Yeah, sure, it's fine with me, but be sure to ask your mom first." David drained the dregs of his coffee and strapped on his holster. "Happy and Sneezy will be by soon to watch after you. We have to go, but if you need anything, you know where to find us."

Yeah, right. Help is weakness, thought Henry, then he mentally smacked himself. No! He yelled at himself, no, it isn't, don't fall back on _his_ doctrine, then _he_ wins!

Mary Margaret and Emma met David at the door. Emma hugged Henry goodbye. "Stay inside unless one of the dwarves is with you, yes, you can go to the stables if you take them, and be good, kid. We'll be home by lunch." The adults left.

Once he was sure they were gone, Henry dropped his smile and slumped his shoulders. Now there were no more distractions until the dwarves arrived. He sat on the couch and picked up his old fairytale book, the one that told the story of Storybrooke, and pored over its pages for any mention of Peter Pan or Neverland. Even as he did, he knew it was useless; before the curse was broken, the book had been his only friend, and he memorized it every which way. He started to argue with himself. There was no way you could have known what kind of place Neverland was, said one side of him, you can't blame yourself for what happened, none of it was your fault.

Oh, yes it was, argued another side, you are the grandchild and child of fairytale characters; you of all people should know that Disney got everything wrong. They were wrong about Grams and Gramps, they were wrong about Mr. Gold, they were wrong about all of it, so why would you assume they got Peter Pan right?

Henry tried to drown this train of thought out, but it kept going: Are you happy now that you've had your own adventure? Is it everything you dreamed, Henry?

Four screams echoed in the back of Henry's mind, three animal, one distinctly human. It had still been his fault, those screams. Whether he had been prepared or not, he had known exactly what he was doing, and he was the reason for those screams.

Henry suddenly couldn't stand to be indoors any longer. Within five minutes, he changed into some regular clothes and ran out the door, pausing only to grab the knife David kept near the door for emergencies.

It wasn't necessarily the screams in his head that scared him; it was the fact that there were only four of them, and he had been in the ring five times. One scream was missing, had never happened, and that one scared him.

* * *

Before anyone gets mad at me, Hook is dead, I know. I have nothing against his character, in fact I rather like him, but his character only complicates the plans I have for this story, so he had to go or the story had to go.

Until the next chapter, I'm justadream2000.


	2. Trial and Error

Hooooo-ee! This chapter was a bear to write!

Sorry, let me start again. I am so, so, so, so, so, so sorry for not uploading, and I will try to update more often in the future for any of you who are following or are even just casually interested in this story.

Quick Preview: Hansel and Gretel are introduced to the story, King George is put on trial, we see a _little_ bit of what happened Neverland, and a taste of sassy Emma.

To come: Regina, Jefferson, Grace, Pinocchio, and maybe Rumple will be joining us, along with my new favorite Princesses, Elsa and Anna; Red finds out she is not as alone as she thinks; and Charming family angst and fluff. Read, review, enjoy!

* * *

In the Tillman household, Father had the final word in everything. His children, Gretel and Hansel, could come up with ideas, make suggestion, they could even argue with him over decisions, but he had the last say in it all, and last say was final. That didn't mean he wasn't fair and loving and kind and all the things a father should be.

This was why Gretel felt no compunction as she disputed the fairness of his latest announcement.

"Why can't we come to the meeting, Father? I promise we'll behave and I'll look after Hansel and we won't cause trouble, just please?" She put on her best begging face, sad with a slight pout and a hint of betrayal.

Father did not take the bait. "Trust me, the meeting will be boring and predictable, and the two of you have homework to do. Besides, I thought you liked being in charge while I was gone. If that's not the case, then I'm sure Hansel would love to be in charge."

Gretel caught herself before her mouth dropped open. "Hansel? In charge?! Father, you wouldn't have a house to come home to! Nothing would get done and we would destroy the apartment and-" Then she noticed the twinkle in his eye. She narrowed her eyes. "You're teasing me." Meanwhile Hansel scowled over his bowl of cereal. "I'm right here, y'know."

Father laughed and put on his coat. "You're exaggerating a bit there, Gretel. You guys are staying here because the Prince explicitly asked me to come and stay late with him."

"Is that what the phone call was about?" Father nodded. "Well, that's still not a good reason to keep us cooped up inside," the girl huffed, crossing her arms.

Father looked at her. "If you feel so strongly about being cooped up indoors, maybe I shouldn't let you help at the garage, then."

He barely got the words out of his mouth before Gretel shouted, "No!" He raised his eyebrows at her. She blushed and fidgeted. "I mean, that's not, I didn't mean it like that…" She trailed off.

The woodcutter felt his heart soften. He raised her chin until she was looking him in the eye. "Look, I know you don't like staying home alone, because that means we have a chance to be separated again. But you're both big enough to take care of yourselves. Twenty-eight years under a curse proved that. I don't like you staying alone either, but today I don't really have a choice. I'll make it up to you later, 'kay?" Gretel smiled a little and nodded. "That's my girl." He leaned down and kissed her head. "Take care of each other and stay out of trouble. I'll be back after lunch." Then he left.

Gretel slumped her shoulders and plunked back in front of her breakfast, poking it instead of eating it. Hansel's comments did nothing to help her mood. "You know, he wasn't being mean, he's just looking out for us. Why would you want to go, anyway?"

"None of your business!" she snapped, instantly regretting it when Hansel flinched. She gazed grumpily at her cereal. She didn't want to tell anyone her reasons. Others would probably think they were stupid reasons. "Look," she started in a much gentler tone, "I know that Father is looking after us and all that, and I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just…I want to go to the meeting to stay in the loop. After all, if there are going to be evil kings and murderers running around town, we should know so we can be safe. Also…" Gretel hesitated a second. Hansel nodded for her to go on. "Also, I wanted to thank the royals, for breaking the curse and finding Dad and everything, and…offer to help them if they need it. We're just kids, yeah, but we could at least show them we are on their side. It's stupid."

Hansel snickered, then said, "Not too stupid. I think I know the real reason for you wanting to go."

Gretel looked at her brother, confused. "What?" If there was supposed to be another reason, she couldn't think of it.

"Never mind," he grinned.

Gretel wasn't taking it, though. "Nuh-uh, you do not get to just mysteriously leave off right there. Tell me."

Hansel's grin broadened. "You want to see Mike. You know he's gonna be there."

Gretel made a face and said, "Ew, no! Why would I want to do that? Boys are dumb!"

"Well, then I must be the exception."

"You wish," the girl snorted, playfully gave him a noogie. "I'll clean the kitchen if you fold the laundry." Hansel agreed and scampered off to change whilst Gretel gathered the dirty breakfast dishes. She smiled, partly because doing the dishes in this land was easier than back home, and partly because she was glad Hansel still treated her as an authority figure. Back when they were on their own, Hansel had looked to her to lead him and take care of finding food and shelter or whatever else they needed. Old habits die hard, as the saying goes.

After putting the food away and the dishes in the dishwasher, Gretel helped Hansel finish the laundry, then went to her room to change. She chose a white polo shirt and a knee-length jumper, the closest she could come to her clothes from home. She met Hansel in his 'room,' really the living area because Father could not afford a bigger apartment. "So what are we gonna do today?" she asked Hansel nonchalantly. She was met with a blank stare. "Come on, it's not every day that I let you choose, but it's often enough. You should be used to it by now, now hurry, we only have till lunch before Dad gets back."

Hansel's expression became thoughtful. "Um…our options are…homework, cleaning, TV, and more homework. Unless," here his face became sneaky, "we sneak into the meeting and get back before Dad does."

Gretel shook her head. "We said we would stay here." A smile as mischievous as her brother's expression quirked her lips up. "Although, we really do need some more eggs and whatever fruit is on sale. If we took some money from the grocery jar and did some shopping, we would get more time with Dad later, and have enough food for the week." She got up. "Since we are going to be around town, we may check on the meeting. Just to be sure nobody crashes the party."

Hansel had his coat on and was at the door in three seconds flat. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's move!"

-«»-

The meeting was held in the largest room in Town Hall, reserved for council sessions during the curse. A long, curved table sat proudly at the front of the room, Charming in the middle with Snow and Emma flanking him. A group of around twelve chairs huddled at their left, sectioned off for the sake of the jury. Charming and Snow wanted to blend the trial systems from their lands in the hopes of being fair. A defendant's podium stood in front of the royals, currently empty. The rest of the room was packed out. Citizens with personal issues, victims of the much-hated king, and curious spectators alike had showed long before ten o'clock rolled around.

Red stood sentinel next to the door, the sheriff badge gleaming on her jacket. It had taken a few days after the royals' sudden exit to get the town under control again, and, under Granny's urging, the woman reluctantly took up the role of acting sheriff in order to keep the peace. The town had been leery of this decision at first, but the fiasco with King George silenced the skeptics. Not many were brave enough to mess with a werewolf.

The room still buzzed slightly with conversation. Charming beckoned Grumpy the Dwarf to him and whispered a few words in his ear. The dwarf nodded, went to Red, conversed quietly for a few seconds, then the two left. Charming stood and rapped the table with his gavel. Silence came over the room.

"Thank you all for being here this morning, and for agreeing to this method of trial. We will begin the proceedings with those who committed severe crimes, and follow with any more civic problems. Objections?" None were said. "Excellent." He raised his voice. "Bring in the prisoner!"

The doors flew open to reveal the disgraced king in chains, surrounded by Red and the dwarves. The atmosphere in the council room became a touch more hostile the farther he walked up the aisle way. By the time he reached the podium, the anger and hatred were nearly palpable, yet the subject of this rage seemed unaffected. He walked with an arrogant tilt of his head and shoulders, not a trace of fear in his features. Red found that strange; surely, King George must comprehend the weight of his plight and the consequences if he was found guilty. Not that he did not deserve any punishment he got.

The trouble with the king this time around started nearly two days after the Neverland crew left. The dwarves drew straws to decide who would feed the infamous prisoner each day of the week, and Tuesdays were Dopey's responsibility. The dwarf reached the section of the mine where the king was, only to find a set of empty chains. As Dopey investigated, George knocked him out and chained him, escaping to safety with the keys, the torch, and the plate of food. Once he reached the town, his work began. He located a historian-cum-adventurer named Milo Thatch, and promised him the legendary and sacred Shepherd's Journal in exchange for his services. Using Regina's house as a home base, the two gathered a force to terrorize the town, using blackmail, kidnapping, and the promise of cash. At first, things seemed to run smoothly: they scared three shop owners into paying them for "protection" and planned a major coup involving the assassination of the few to keep the many in line. However, three days later, Red took on the mantle of Sheriff, and their plans started to fall apart. George ordered Thatch to lead a team to "dispose of" the Blue Fairy, Jiminy, and Granny, all in the same night. However, when Milo arrived at the meeting place, the men refused to go along with the plan, afraid of what the royals would do to them when they returned. The argument boiled over, leading to the team attacking Thatch and vanishing. Thatch was taken to the hospital, where he called the king, demanding the Journal. The king told him to go to hell to find his precious journal, and hung up. In a rage, Thatch broke into Rumplstiltskin's pawnshop and tore it apart. That was where Ruby found and arrested him. Since then, the town remained quiet.

Charming glared down at his one-time father for a moment, then went stone-faced. "What is this man charged with?"

"Escaping custody, resisting arrest, breaking and entering, kidnaping, robbery, blackmail, and attempted murder," the acting sheriff said.

"A remarkable list for such a short period of time. Anything the town representative would like to add?"

Those in the jury exchanged whispers with Jiminy, the representative for both them and the town. He nodded and stood. "The town would like it recognized that the defendant assaulted and injured Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Stockman."

Charming nodded in acknowledgment, then turned back to George. "Quite the busy man you've been, George. Have you anything to say in your defense?"

Raising his eyes from the platform to the royals, the king spoke for the first time that morning. "I do, as a matter of fact. You and everyone else the town considers its leaders left in the blink of an eye, never thinking of the safety of your people. I did. I knew this town would need a leader, someone to keep them safe, and I was going to provide it for them, until your pet hound ruined everything. How do expect to run a town, much less a kingdom, when you can't even care for its people?"

"_No one_ cares for these people like we do!" Charming all but yelled, rising from his seat with such violence he nearly knocked the table over. "For all you ever cared about them, the whole town could have been enslaved by Oz, and as long as you made a profit they could have it!"

"At least I would have been here! You can't even say that much!"

"So you do not deny it? I thought it was you who said family is everything."

"And let your kingdom come to ruin in the process?"

"Never! I would never-"

"If you were a real prince, you would understand. James did."

Charming reached for his sword, but a smaller hand stopped him. "Charming, don't let him win." He looked between his wife's slightly pleading eyes and his enemy's cold, victorious ones. The king knew that any mention of his long-lost brother was sure to get a rise out of the prince, and his words had hit their mark. Slowly, fists still clenched on the table, the prince sat again. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" he growled.

Archie stood again. "Yes, your majesty: isolation and imprisonment in Rumplestiltskin's cell. Until then, he will be held in the mines under twenty-four hour guard."

"Objections?" Charming scanned the crowd. There were none. "Then take this filth out of my sight. Emma," the woman turned to her father, "would you take him to the mines with Ruby?"

Emma's eyebrows rose. "Why do you need me to do it?"

"You are the sheriff," Snow said simply.

"Oookay, and why are Grumpy and Ruby not able to handle it?"

"Could you please do it?"

Emma sighed but nodded, shooting her parents a look that said, "You both owe me," collected her charge, and left with her mother's best friend.

For a long few seconds, nothing could be heard in the courtroom. Then Charming took a deep breath to calm down, cleared his throat, and called in the next case.

-«»-

Hansel and Gretel scrambled to get down from the window they were using to watch the meeting. They left the house after they were sure their father would not be able to catch them, bought the milk and eggs in case they had to give an excuse for being out, and arrived at the spying spot just in time for the trial to begin. When King George escaped and began to terrorize the town, Father shielded them from as much as he could, so the two wanted details to brag about at school.

Talking of Father, they had had a few close calls when he turned to look out the windows. He hadn't seen them, thankfully, but he would know they disobeyed if they didn't hide before Emma and Ruby—

"Ava? Nicholas? What are you guys doing out here? Michael said you would be at home."

-came outside. Nuts.

Gretel turned sheepishly, putting on her best innocent face. "We were just going to get some groceries, and wanted to see how the meeting was going." She curtsied as Hansel bowed. "Sorry, your majesty."

Emma turned her head sideways, torn between feeling confused and feeling annoyed that they lied to her again. "Superpower, kid, remember? It was what got you in trouble the first time. Besides, you don't have to apologize to the king, he's the one who nearly destroyed the town."

"I wasn't talking to the king, your highness."

Realization dawned on Emma, and with it came panic. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, I am not a 'majesty,' kid."

"But you're the daughter of a prince and a princess, who are going to be king and queen someday, which makes you a princess."

"That has nothing to do with what you call me, and what I want you to call me is Sheriff Swan. Got it?" The two children nodded. "And you still haven't told me what you are really doing here." Gretel fidgeted with her hands. Hansel suddenly found his shoes very interesting. "Are you going to tell me or should I ask your father?"

"NO! I mean, please don't do that, we…well, we aren't…um…" Hansel fumbled with his words. He wasn't used to being the one who talked. Luckily, Gretel stepped in.

"We aren't supposed to be out here; Father doesn't want something bad to happen to us, and you have to admit, whenever a big meeting or something happens, something bad comes up, but we got bored and wanted to be where the action was and please don't tell our dad because we'll get in so much trouble and he'll never let us help him at the garage or in the woods again, or at least for a long time, and helping Father is the best—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Emma cut her off. "I get it, but that doesn't mean you should break the rules." Gretel opened her mouth to protest. "Let me finish. I'll let it slide this once, but if you try something like this again, your dad hears, and you're on your own. Got it?" Gretel made as if to curtsy, but checked herself and nodded vigorously instead. Hansel grinned his head off and nodded, too. A thought hit Emma. "Do you guys need a lift home? I'm sure I can pick you up after I drop this psycho off, or if Ruby is willing, she could do it."

Ruby looked up sharply, surprise and—was that panic?—flashing across her face before it settled on sympathy. "Sorry, it would be safer if the both of us took George to the mines, so I'm going with Emma." The kids nodded in understanding.

King George grimaced in disgust and started to say, "Two freakish hounds watching me is an insult," for which Emma slapped him on the back of his head.

"I can think of tons of reasons to beat you senseless, you really want to give me an excuse?" He shut up and skulked into the backseat of the sheriff's car. "We'll be back later. If I come back and don't see you, I'll assume you went home."

Hansel gave a salute. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

Emma rolled her eyes. As she got into the car, she turned her cell phone off of silent. Immediately, the screen lit up and it started buzzing. The screen showed seven missed calls and twelve new texts, all from the same number. Curiosity soon turned to horror as she opened the messages. She pressed hard on the gas pedal, willing the car to go faster and hoping the messages were in error. The sooner they reached the mines and dropped off Mr. Psycho, the sooner she could answer the dwarves.

Henry was gone again.

-«»-

Before the curse was broken, days in Storybrooke were overcast, grey, and usually chilly. If any citizen was asked about that time, he or she could say with varying degrees of certainty that working and going about the activities of life had been like walking through a dream. It wasn't until after the curse broke that Henry remembered seeing the clouds break and the weather warmed. Of course, all manner of life in the woods surrounding the town thrived on this change. If you didn't know the forest like Red or the woodcutter did, you would miss most of the changes, and all you could say if pressed would be that the animals seemed happier, and the leaves just a little livelier. This was true, and yet it did not tell the whole story. During the curse, the very air of the forest thrummed with something sinister that a traveler couldn't quite put a finger on; now, however, the air flowed freely, clearly, lending an almost majestic aura at certain times of day.

Henry liked the woods, always had, and chalked it up where his family was from; love of the woods must run in his blood, like the taste for adventure, sense of duty, and courage. It wasn't until his recent adventures in Neverland that he became aware of how dangerous a forest could be. The Lost Ones used trees as traps, and treated anyone they pleased to a deadly game of Hide-and-Seek, where they always came out on top due to their control over the animals and superior knowledge of the terrain. The air of Neverland felt cursed, but those there knew why: it was cursed with youth, death, and an evil ruler. Being in those woods made you lose your sanity; the woods back in Storybrooke were calming.

This was why Henry took off for the forest when being indoors became too much earlier. How long he had been running or where he even was, he didn't know or care. A rational part of his mind whispered for him to slow down, take a breather, get his bearings, but he was not inclined to listen to that part of his mind. The handle of the knife had warmed in his hand, but when he felt the blade, it sent a chill through him. Cold as ice. Cold as death, and oh so familiar…

He tripped suddenly, and let himself fall face-first on the forest floor. 'NO! You. Will. NOT. WIN!' he shouted in his head. 'Good always wins, and what you did—what you tried to make me do—what you tried to make me become—was not good, so you won't win, I won't let you.' He picked himself up and continued at a walking pace, knife clenched even tighter in his fist.

When Mom and Mary Margaret came home from the Enchanted Forest, he pumped them for information and peppered Mom with questions on how their adventures went and what it was like to be a hero. He had dreamed of having his own adventures, and what those adventures would give him: popularity, friends, and the chance to help the town with his family. Maybe he would even find a group of heroes, like Snow and the dwarves and Red and Jiminy, to share adventures with. It sounded selfish now, but he couldn't deny that he had wanted these things. Now, though, he wanted none of it. Adventures sucked.

Pan had sent Tamara and Greg to capture the next 'Pan' for training. Once they left, 'Pan' set to work.

"Peter Pan isn't really my name, Henry. It's just a title. Soon, it will be your title. When I became Pan, nearly five hundred years ago, a Seer gave me a drawing of the next boy to be Pan, and told me he would be a special boy, indeed. A product of True Love, a purest believer in magic, quite the little hero. Which is why we need you. Neverland needs you. All that fighting for dominance, that's a thing of the past. You are the new age, the one who will make the name Neverland feared in all realms, and spread her borders. Now, are you ready to begin?"

"Why do you need me here, then? You still have five hundred years left."

"Becoming Pan can take centuries to learn right. The best way for you to be ready is to train now. What do you say, mate?"

'Get out of my head, get out,' Henry prayed frantically, but other speeches rose unbidden to the surface of his mind.

"A leader must be able to fight for himself, Henry…a leader must discipline the soldiers, Henry…compassion and mercy make you weak, Henry, try to avoid it in the future…Henry…Henry…"

The boy fell to his knees, chanting that it wasn't real and the imp had no power over him anymore like it was a prayer. He supposed in a way it was. In a frustrated fit, Henry started tearing at his skull with his fingers to get at the offending voice and rip it from his brain. He was about to bang his head against the hilt of the knife when the only voice of the only person he didn't want to see right now spoke his name.

"Henry?"

The boy looked up. He had reached the edge of the woods, near the mines, nearly two miles from his starting point. Parked on the road was the familiar outline of the Sheriff's car. Two men stood in front of the mines, out of earshot. A brunette woman whom he recognized to be Ruby was near the car. Standing not a hundred feet away from him was Emma Swan. His mother.

Henry stayed stock still for a moment. Then he picked up the knife he had dropped in surprise and ran back into the forest.

* * *

Suggestions? Complaints? Let's hear them!


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